Letter of Parish.Cdr
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ST.VINCENT DE PAUL PARISH, KHAR, MUMBAI. OCTOBER 2016 BRIDGING THE GAP IN SOCIETY Dear Parishioners, Our patron saint St. Vincent de Paul, has been a guiding light that through the generations has illuminated society and made a positive impact on numerous lives. In this issue, Fr. Vianney has written an excellent article on the life of St. Vincent de Paul. I would like to point out that while the world talks about our patron saint's dedication to the poor, what often seems to be overlooked is that St. Vincent served as a bridge between society's well off and its poor. He was able to get the rich also involved in service of the poor. St. Vincent was an achiever in his own right and he used this in getting influential people to contribute both time, effort and money in helping the poor. His call to actively support the poor in society is as relevant today as it was centuries ago. We need to spare some time, energy and money for the poor and the needy. We can show our commitment to his call by adopting one poor family in our neighbourhood irrespective of caste and creed. Keep a day every week or every month to help your adopted family. Find out what their needs are beyond money. Is there a child that is educationally weak? Is there a youth that needs a job? Or just listening to them would be powerful boost in helping them deal with their situation. I am sure that there are many more ways in which we can make a positive difference to their lives. Let us on this occasion re-dedicate our lives to the service of the poor. Happy feast to all of us. Fr. Milton Gonsalves. From the Editor’s Desk The Editorial board wishes all our readers A Very Happy Feast. Our Patron St. Vincent de Paul, known for his works for charity has a modern day saint who followed in his footstep. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose canonisation by Pope Francis in the “Year of Mercy” on September 4th was celebrated around the world, epotomised the teachings of St. Vincent de Paul. Her missionary work is an outstanding example of how charity can change the world. We can make a difference in our parish by joining any one of the many associations we have. All that is needed of you is some of your precious time and talent in helping underprivileged of our community. A community that shares is a community that cares. Coming to sharing, the sharing of family recipes. Our communities are rich with diverse culinary secrets – grandma's recipe that will be lost with time. This is the right platform to share these secrets so that they are enjoyed by the entire community. Some of our parishioners have taken the first steps and have shared their recipes for your enjoyment. We would like to see more recipes shared here. This bulletin is yours. It is a place for sharing your ideas and suggestions. Only you can make it more interesting and make it truly reflection of our parish. Come and give it a try. - Editorial Board ST. VINCENT de PAUL Vincent was born in 1581 in Gascony, Southern France. He completed his studies in the University of Toulouse and came out in flying colours. He was ordained priest in 1600 at the age of 19 and this was a rare exception. Today one cannot be ordained a priest until he is 25 years old. Five years later, he travelled by sea from Marseilles to Narbonne. While he was travelling, he was captured by Turkish pirates. They sold him into slavery in Tunis and in two years, he converted his master and escaped with him to Paris and settled there where he worked as Chaplain of the aristocratic family of Philip Emmanuel de Gondi for twelve years. Then in 1618 he was appointed Chaplain General of the galleys of France. He brought hope to the prisoners who were living in darkness and in the shadows of death. He even rescued children who were abandoned and left to die. He is known all over the world as the friend and protector especially of the countless children left on the streets of Paris. We have a beautiful statue of this Saint with two children, near to the main entrance of our Church to remind us of the marvelous acts he did for God's people. He not only helped the poor, but the rich as well by telling them to be generous and kind to the needy. Such apostolic labours did he possess, that brought many persons to God. Of course he was a man of prayer and self-denial His good example and pastoral work in the parish made even the rich to pray often before the Blessed Sacrament. His pastoral ministry made him aware of the religious and moral destitution of the poor and the ignorance & laziness of many people especially the clergy, whom God called to cater to everyone's needs. So he decided to take steps to remedy the situation. In many parts of France, Vincent de Paul founded Societies of Charity which looked after poor people especially those who were ill. Madame Le Gras directed them with great devotion and they prospered within seven to eight years, that he gathered the first twelve girls around his penitent, St. Louise de Marillac and soon these charitable ladies were formed into a religious community, the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. In one of the writings of St. Vincent de Paul he says “We should neither judge the poor by their clothes and their outward appearance nor by their mental capacity, since they are often ignorant and uncouth. On the contrary, if you consider the poor in the light of faith, then you will see that they take the place of God the Son, who chose to be poor…” Therefore, St. Vincent reminds us that we should have the mind of Christ and imitate Christ consoling, helping and guiding them. The more we concentrate our attention, on the poor the better will be our reward from God, receiving life, joy and peace in abundance. Fr.Vianney Rodrigues URGENTLY NEEDED: An ELECTRICIAN .... to restore the current between people that do not speak to each other anymore. An OPTICIAN ... to change the outlook of people. An ARTIST ... to draw a smile on everyone’s face. A CONTRUCTION WORKER ... to build peace. A GARDENER ... to cultivate good thoughts. And finally A MATHS TEACHER ... for us all to relearn how to count on each other. A LONG WAY TO ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, KHAR. Way back in 1583, Chuim was one of the twenty five Catholic villages of Bandra. The spiritual needs of the people of this village were looked after by St. Anne's Church, Bandra. St. Anne's Church cum residence was on the site of the present BEST Depot, Bandra. It was built between 1577 and 1583 which served as a Church. In 1616 the parish of St. Anne was bifurcated and the parish of St. Andrew's came into existence. In 1739, during the Maratha invasion, the Church of St. Anne's was destroyed and St. Andrew's Church was damaged. The European and Portuguese clergy were forced to leave. St. Andrew's Church remained desolate with no priest. No religious services were held till 1749 when the secular priests took over. St. Andrew's was the only parish Church left in Bandra. The Church had jurisdiction over the whole of Bandra. The village of Chuim came under St. Andrew's jurisdiction, which looked after the Catholic population who lived there. In 1858 a chapel was built at Pali Hill, Bandra and dedicated to St. Anne. The people of Chuim found it more convenient to attend religious services at Pali Hill. The village of Chuim remained under the jurisdiction of St. Andrew's Church for more than three hundred years. Chuim situated at 19.07 latitude and 72.83 longitude, was known as “Sleepy Hollow”. Located on the knoll besides the Arabian sea, the village reminded one of the Mediterranean seaside villages especially to the Portuguese. The place was surrounded on the north by the village of Danda consisting of fisherman and the Bhandari toddy tappers,on the east and south by thick forests and fields inhabited by large troops of monkeys especially on the road to Pali, which till the late 1950's was known as the Palli – Danda Monkey Road, due to it being a long winding road. Between the hill and the sea was a vast expanse called Danda Green which has an expansive 9 holes Golf Course where members played a double round to make it an 18 hole Golf Course. The people inhabiting Chuim village were farmers and cultivators. A decree dated January 9, 1943 issued by Archbishop Roberts S.J., raised Chuim to the status of an independent parish. That same day Fr. M.M. Balaguer SJ, Vicar-General of Bombay, blessed the lower floor of St. Elias' Primary School (previously known as Mount Mary's School) as a place of worship for the new parish which was dedicated to St. Vincent de Paul. The first Parish Priest of St. Vincent de Paul was Fr. A. Remedios. He and five succeeding Vicars from 1943 to 1963 were accommodated in the home of 'Aunty' Leticia Fernandes located very close to the Church/School, and they ministered to the parish from there. It was in 1963, on the plot of land, which the Archdiocese had purchased some years before, close to the village of Chuim, that a new school building was built during the Vicarship of Fr.